Former truck driver Joe Dean earns final spot in British Open via 'Last Chance Qualifier'

Joe Dean, a DP World Tour professional who in recent years became a truck driver to support his pro golf career, earned the final spot in The Open via a first-ever “Last Chance Qualifier” at Royal Birkdale.

Created by The R&A among a series of enhancements designed to elevate the fan experience, the qualifier pitted 12 players against one another across 18 holes of stroke play at this week’s host site with a spot in the final field on the line. Dean was one of only two players to break par, shooting a 2-under 68 that included a par save from a greenside bunker on No. 18 to close out a one-shot victory over fellow Englishman Andrew Wilson.

Dean has had some success on the DP World Tour this year, finishing T3 at the KLM Open and T9 at the BMW International Open in his most recent start, but he spent time as a supermarket delivery driver to help make ends meet ahead of the 2024 DP World Tour season after earning status via Q-School.

Dean was one of several players in the Last Chance Qualifier field who had narrowly missed out on earning a spot via final qualifying, as he lost a 3-for-1 playoff at West Lancashire. Now he’ll take a spot alongside the world’s best in Southport, making his third career Open start having also made the cut in 2017 at Royal Birkdale.

Recent PGA TOUR winner Aldrich Potgieter needed a birdie on No. 18 to tie Dean but made bogey to finish alone in third place after an even-par 70. Potgieter entered the qualifier as the first alternate for the tournament and will remain in that spot, with Matti Schmid still the second alternate for the tournament despite a 2-over 72. The rest of the alternates for the tournament will be based on the qualifier results, meaning that Wilson is now third alternate for the tournament followed by amateur Sam Easterbrook who shot a 1-over 71.